Ballbug: Jason Heyward made Cubs catcher David Ross cry with his retirement gift (Arielle Aronson/Fox Sports)

Jessica Kleinschmidt / FanDuel Insider:

Clint Barmes Explains Why He Retired During the 8th Inning of Triple-A Game — It was in the town of Reno, Nevada where Clint Barmes made the decision it would be the last game he'd play. In front of a crowd of over 5,700 at Greater Nevada Field, Barmes walked into the dugout during …

Discussion: Pirates Breakdown, Royals Review and Bucs Dugout

Clint Barmes Retires — Veteran Royals infielder Clint Barmes has decided to hang up his spikes after a 13-year MLB career. He was officially released by the Royals today, and tells Jessica Kleinschmidt of Fan Duel that he made the final decision to retire in the middle of a recent ballgame.

Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:

Josh Hamilton Out For Season; Shin-Soo Choo Back To DL — Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will not suit up for the club this year, GM Jon Daniels told reporters including Jared Sandler of the Rangers Radio Network (Twitter link). He'll undergo surgery in early June that will sideline him the rest of the way.

Discussion: Minor League Ball, Lone Star Ball, NBCSports.com, Yahoo Sports and MLB Daily Dish

Arielle Aronson / Fox Sports:

Jason Heyward made Cubs catcher David Ross cry with his retirement gift — Jason Heyward was quick to share the wealth after he signed an eight-year, $184 million contract with the Chicago Cubs in December. According to Bleacher Report, one of Heyward's first moves after locking up the new deal …

Discussion: Bleacher Report, Halos Heaven and CBS Chicago

ESPN:

Pirates' Ryan Vogelsong hit in head by pitch — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong left PNC Park in an ambulance Monday after being struck in the head by a pitch. — Batting with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, Vogelsong had an -2 count when a pitch …

Discussion: Yahoo Sports, Purple Row and Bucs Dugout

Associated Press:

Pence's Bloop Double in 9th Lifts Giants Past Padres 1-0 — By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMAY 24, 2016, 1:30 A.M. E.D.T. — SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Belt scored from first base when pinch-hitter Hunter Pence's bloop double to short right field fell between two San Diego Padres players with two outs …

Discussion: McCovey Chronicles and Yahoo Sports

Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:

Braves Acquire Brian Matusz, Draft Pick From Orioles — The Orioles and Braves have struck a deal that sends lefty Brian Matusz and the 76th overall draft pick from Baltimore to Atlanta. Minor league pitchers Brandon Barker and Trevor Belicek are headed to the O's in the swap.

Discussion: NBCSports.com, FanGraphs Baseball, Minor League Ball, School of Roch, Camden Chat, Talking Chop, MLB Daily Dish and Yahoo Sports

Associated Press:

Hill Wins Again, A's End Skid With 5-0 Victory vs Mariners — By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMAY 24, 2016, 1:09 A.M. E.D.T. — SEATTLE — Rich Hill pitched eight innings to win his fourth straight start, Stephen Vogt hit a leadoff homer in the seventh inning to snap a scoreless tie …

Discussion: Lookout Landing

Associated Press:

Kershaw Tosses 2-Hitter in Dodgers' 1-0 Win Over Reds — By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMAY 24, 2016, 12:45 A.M. E.D.T. — LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw tossed a two-hitter for his third shutout of the season, pitching the Los Angeles Dodgers past Cincinnati 1-0 Monday night for their eighth straight win over the Reds.

Discussion: True Blue LA and Yahoo Sports

Associated Press:

Suzuki's 4 Hits Help Marlins Rally Past Rays 7-6 — By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMAY 23, 2016, 10:36 P.M. E.D.T. — MIAMI — Ichiro Suzuki had four hits, including a single in Miami's two-run eighth inning, and the Marlins rallied past the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 Monday night.

Discussion: Fish Stripes

Associated Press:

Ramirez Hits 2 of Indians' 6 HRs in DH Split With White Sox — By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMAY 24, 2016, 12:03 A.M. E.D.T. — CHICAGO — Rajai Davis' two-run homer in the fifth inning put Cleveland ahead to stay, Jose Ramirez hit his second long ball of the day and Juan Uribe also went deep …

Discussion: South Side Sox, Let's Go Tribe and Yahoo Sports

Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:

Carson Smith To Undergo Tommy John Surgery — Red Sox reliever Carson Smith will require season-ending Tommy John surgery, the club has announced. It's a big blow for Boston and the young reliever, who was acquired from the Mariners over the winter. — Smith, 26, had missed the start …

Discussion: MLB Daily Dish

Associated Press:

No Duda, no problem: Mets find power stroke, beat Nationals … WASHINGTON — Bartolo Colon's back was bothering him enough that he told New York Mets manager Terry Collins he wouldn't be able to hit another memorable home run. The heart of the lineup took care of that.

Discussion: ESPN, Faith and Fear in Flushing, Federal Baseball, Amazin' Avenue and ESPN

Erik Boland / Newsday:

Carlos Beltran's numbers say he's more productive as a DH … Carlos Beltran knows the numbers. — He knows what they are when he's strictly a designated hitter and when he starts in rightfield. — Still, the answer remains the same regarding his preference, something he has said throughout his time with the Yankees.

Discussion: Batter's Box Interactive …